Department

Fraud in the News

September/October 2018

ByRandi Zimmer, CFE

You've been caught cheating!

Fraudsters are getting personal when it comes to extortion, according to a July 17 Los Angeles Times article by David Lazarus,
This scam assumes you’re having an affair (so be careful if you really are). Random households are receiving letters in the mail claiming they were seen cheating on their significant others. The anonymous writer promises to keep quiet as long as they’re paid a significant amount of money through bitcoin — an untraceable cryptocurrency that makes it difficult to pinpoint the perpetrator.

According to the article, the scammer makes the cheating allegations appear legitimate by personalizing the letters to specific neighborhoods and providing streets or locations that the recipients might’ve visited.

Lazarus writes that it’s easy to obtain names and addresses for specific ZIP codes to create a mailing campaign. Those who aren’t cheaters, single or can spot a scam a mile away don’t have to worry. Still, as Lazarus writes, “It’s a sad commentary on our society that this isn’t an unreasonable gamble on the scammer’s part.”